TEHRAN, Feb. 22 (MNA) – Iran has reported a major increase in its saffron exports in the 10 months to late January amid better government support for farmers and exporters.

Head of the Iranian agriculture ministry’s department for medicinal herbs Hossein Zeinali said on Tuesday that Iran had exported some 178 metric tons of saffron worth $173 million in the 10 calendar months to January 20.

Zeinali said the figure was an increase of 55.62% compared with the same previous period.

He said the increase in Iran’s saffron exports was a result of better government support for the sector in the form of guaranteed purchases from farmers and discounts on loans given to exporters.

The official said that the cultivation area for saffron in Iran had expanded in the year to March 2022 to reach nearly 122,000 hectares, Press TV reported.

Zeinali said a total of 326 saffron processing and packaging units are currently operating in Iran with a total capacity of 596 metric tons per year, adding that more than half of those factories are based in the eastern Khorasan Razavi province where much of the country's saffron crop is grown.

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